Inhibition of lipase activity in antibiotic-resistant propionibacterium acnes strains

What is the role of antimicrobial peptides (AMP) in acne vulgaris?

Acne vulgaris is the most common disorder of the pilosebaceous unit leading to inflamed skin characterized by the formation of comedones, papules, pustules and scarring. There is increasing evidence that the abundance of Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) in the inflamed acne lesions triggers inflammation. Therefore, in addition to treatment with retinoids, the use of antimicrobial agents has been established as a treatment option for acne. This indicates that antimicrobial mechanisms to control the growth of P. acnes may have an important influence on the severity of inflammatory acne. One import antimicrobial innate defense system comprises the production of antimicrobial peptides (AMP), small molecules with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity as well as immunomodulatory properties. Although the role of AMP in acne is still emerging, there is increasing evidence that AMP may be of importance in acne. The aim of this viewpoint is to provide some hypotheses about the potential function of AMP in the pathogenesis of acne and to discuss potential AMP-based therapies for the treatment of acne.

Proteomic identification of secreted proteins of Propionibacterium acnes

Background

The anaerobic Gram-positive bacterium Propionibacterium acnes is a human skin commensal that resides preferentially within sebaceous follicles; however, it also exhibits many traits of an opportunistic pathogen, playing roles in a variety of inflammatory diseases such as acne vulgaris. To date, the underlying disease-causing mechanisms remain ill-defined and knowledge of P. acnes virulence factors remains scarce. Here, we identified proteins secreted during anaerobic cultivation of a range of skin and clinical P. acnes isolates, spanning the four known phylogenetic groups.

Results

Culture supernatant proteins of P. acnes were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and all Coomassie-stained spots were subsequently identified by MALDI mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). A set of 20 proteins was secreted in the mid-exponential growth phase by the majority of strains tested. Functional annotation revealed that many of these common proteins possess degrading activities, including glycoside hydrolases with similarities to endoglycoceramidase, β-N-acetylglucosaminidase and muramidase; esterases such as lysophospholipase and triacylglycerol lipase; and several proteases. Other secreted factors included Christie-Atkins-Munch-Petersen (CAMP) factors, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and several hypothetical proteins, a few of which are unique to P. acnes. Strain-specific differences were apparent, mostly in the secretion of putative adhesins, whose genes exhibit variable phase variation-like sequence signatures.

Conclusions

Our proteomic investigations have revealed that the P. acnes secretome harbors several proteins likely to play a role in host-tissue degradation and inflammation. Despite a large overlap between the secretomes of all four P. acnes phylotypes, distinct differences between predicted host-tissue interacting proteins were identified, providing potential insight into the differential virulence properties of P. acnes isolates. Thus, our data presents a rich resource for guiding much-needed investigations on P. acnes virulence factors and host interacting properties.

Bioengineering a humanized acne microenvironment model: proteomics analysis of host responses to Propionibacterium acnes infection in vivo

Acne is a human disease of the sebaceous hair follicle. Unlike humans, most animals produce little or no triglycerides in hair follicles to harbor Propionibacterium acnes a fact that has encumbered the development of novel treatments for acne lesions. Although genetic mutant mice with acne-like skins have been used for screening anti-acne drugs, the mice generally have deficits in immune system that turns out to be inappropriate to generate antibodies for developing acne vaccines. Here, we employed a bioengineering approach using a tissue chamber integrated with a dermis-based cell-trapped system (DBCTS) to mimic the in vivo microenvironment of acne lesions. Human sebocyte cell lines were grown in DBCTS as a scaffold and inserted into a perforated tissue chamber. After implantation of a tissue chamber bearing human sebocytes into ICR mice, P. acnes or PBS was injected into a tissue chamber to induce host immune response. Infiltrated cells such as neutrophils and macrophages were detectable in tissue chamber fluids. In addition, a proinflammatory cytokine macrophage-inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) was elevated after P. acnes injection. In tissue chamber fluids, 13 proteins including secreted proteins and cell matrix derived from mouse, human cells or P. acnes were identified by proteomics using isotope-coded protein label (ICPL) coupled to nano-LC-MS analysis. After P. acnes infection, four proteins including fibrinogen, alpha polypeptide, fibrinogen beta chain, S100A9, and serine protease inhibitor A3K showed altered concentrations in the mimicked acne microenvironment. The bioengineered acne model thus provides an in vivo microenvironment to study the interaction of host with P. acnes and offers a unique set-up for screening novel anti-acne drugs and vaccines.

Vaccination targeting a surface sialidase of P. acnes: implication for new treatment of acne vulgaris

BACKGROUND

Acne vulgaris afflicts more than fifty million people in the United State and the severity of this disorder is associated with the immune response to Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes). Systemic therapies for acne target P. acnes using antibiotics, or target the follicle with retinoids such as isotretinoin. The latter systemic treatment is highly effective but also carries a risk of side effects including immune imbalance, hyperlipidemia, and teratogenicity. Despite substantial research into potential new therapies for this common disease, vaccines against acne vulgaris are not yet available.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

Here we create an acne vaccine targeting a cell wall-anchored sialidase of P. acnes. The importance of sialidase to disease pathogenesis is shown by treatment of a human sebocyte cell line with recombinant sialidase that increased susceptibility to P. acnes cytotoxicity and adhesion. Mice immunized with sialidase elicit a detectable antibody; the anti-sialidase serum effectively neutralized the cytotoxicity of P. acnes in vitro and P. acnes-induced interleukin-8 (IL-8) production in human sebocytes. Furthermore, the sialidase-immunized mice provided protective immunity against P. acnes in vivo as this treatment blocked an increase in ear thickness and release of pro-inflammatory macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP-2) cytokine.

CONCLUSIONS

Results indicated that acne vaccines open novel therapeutic avenues for acne vulgaris and other P. acnes-associated diseases.